Poison Ivy Premium Format (Mark Newman)

[Comicbookguy]

Originally Posted by OrangeCrush

Even with how fortunate I have been with Sideshow staues over the last couple years, I still open mine up within the first couple weeks to make sure there aren't issues. Keeping your statues sealed and just trusting that they will be ok when or if you decide to open them up is just way too risky, especially at these prices.

100% the truth. If collectors don't open them then it's at their own risk. So many thing can go wrong with the statue inside. Even if ss makes perfect QC the shipping companies will not handle your box softly for sure.

[Hanky Panky]

Good points gentlemen!

Really, anything that is $300 or above, you should REALLY open it on DAY ONE.

[OrangeCrush]

Originally Posted by Comicbookguy

100% the truth. If collectors don't open them then it's at their own risk. So many thing can go wrong with the statue inside. Even if ss makes perfect QC the shipping companies will not handle your box softly for sure.

Yeah, just way too many things that can go wrong, just from the point of packaging to the point of being dropped off on your doorstep. These statues are not like Bishoujo's or other kinds of statues that are actually worth more if thier still sealed and unopened. People buying statues like these want to know if they have any issues. They want the seller to open it up and check it out

And if you do wind up selling a sealed statue on eBay that winds up having an issue, chances are the buyer is just going to return it and then your left with an open & damaged statue. Even if you were to list the statue as "brand new and still sealed", the buyer is still covered under eBay's buyer protection policy. If they get a damaged statue, they can start a case on eBay and the seller will lose every time. So there is really no advantage whatsoever to keeping these statues sealed and unopened.

[Blasterkid]

I had kept my Ivy for about a year before opening it which is crazy I know. I bought the Batman black Premium Format exclusive, and Ivy exclusive. I didn't have room in my office at the time. I didn't realize that there was the risk of them coming painted poorly. In terms of damage both boxes came pretty much mint, so I wasn't exactly concerned about there being damage inside. But of course that's always a possibility too.

Now I know better but those were my first two statues I'd ever bought. When I read a thread like this and I started thinking "oh man I'd better check these out for damage or bad paint apps etc. ". I knew it was too late but I needed to face the music and at least see what condition they were in. Both looked great and had no flaws but I do feel like I got lucky because Batman was said to have a few issues and also Ivy did with paint.

But as far as a percentage of the pieces that had shipped. Huge numbers were in fact made so although 10-20 people on youtube out of say 5K- 7500 etc..had issues with Batman PF black...who knows how far reaching it really was.

Flesh colored Ivy actually has a very subtle paint job and in photos it's very difficult to capture how nice her skin is. Its really subtle but it goes from really nice vanilla skin color to a very light beige to even flushed pink in places its really cool but tough to photograph.

[Hanky Panky]

Originally Posted by Blasterkid

I had kept my Ivy for about a year before opening it which is crazy I know.

Yup...that is WAY crazy!

[Blasterkid]

I was young in the collecting game and didn't know. Haha.

It worked out fine luckily. Opening I was worried though.

[Pharmer]

Originally Posted by OrangeCrush

Yeah, just way too many things that can go wrong, just from the point of packaging to the point of being dropped off on your doorstep. These statues are not like Bishoujo's or other kinds of statues that are actually worth more if thier still sealed and unopened. People buying statues like these want to know if they have any issues. They want the seller to open it up and check it out

And if you do wind up selling a sealed statue on eBay that winds up having an issue, chances are the buyer is just going to return it and then your left with an open & damaged statue. Even if you were to list the statue as "brand new and still sealed", the buyer is still covered under eBay's buyer protection policy. If they get a damaged statue, they can start a case on eBay and the seller will lose every time. So there is really no advantage whatsoever to keeping these statues sealed and unopened.

Looking back, I totally dodged a bullet when I sold a PF on EBay that the seller demanded stay sealed. If he was a fraudster and switched the piece to accuse me of selling junk to him I would have been out 580 USD. Your reminder is good advice to us all. These days, I video everything in the post office from packaging right up until I hand the piece over to get my tracking number.

[OrangeCrush]

Originally Posted by Pharmer

Looking back, I totally dodged a bullet when I sold a PF on EBay that the seller demanded stay sealed. If he was a fraudster and switched the piece to accuse me of selling junk to him I would have been out 580 USD. Your reminder is good advice to us all. These days, I video everything in the post office from packaging right up until I hand the piece over to get my tracking number.

Smart! Think about it, if someone had a Premium Format statue and wound up breaking it in some manner, all they would have to do is buy a new one on eBay, switch out the broken pieces for the new pieces and claim that they recieved a broken statue. They would get thier PF statue fixed and get thier money back and the seller would be screwed. The only thing you couldn't do this with is the base, due to it being numbered, but even in this case you would have to have proof that you had a particular numbered base. Otherwise it would be the buyers word against the sellers word and again, buyers have the upper hand in a BIG way on eBay. In those cases, it almost always winds up going in the buyers favor.

eBay really needs to put better protections in place for sellers. In regards to protection, its the buyers that really have all the power on eBay. So using things like video, while tedious I am sure, is a very smart thing to do. Anything that can help you if a case winds up being made is a smart thing to do. There are a lot of scammers out there!

[Cougrcrumby]

Originally Posted by OrangeCrush

Smart! Think about it, if someone had a Premium Format statue and wound up breaking it in some manner, all they would have to do is buy a new one on eBay, switch out the broken pieces for the new pieces and claim that they recieved a broken statue. They would get thier PF statue fixed and get thier money back and the seller would be screwed. The only thing you couldn't do this with is the base, due to it being numbered, but even in this case you would have to have proof that you had a particular numbered base. Otherwise it would be the buyers word against the sellers word and again, buyers have the upper hand in a BIG way on eBay. In those cases, it almost always winds up going in the buyers favor.

eBay really needs to put better protections in place for sellers. In regards to protection, its the buyers that really have all the power on eBay. So using things like video, while tedious I am sure, is a very smart thing to do. Anything that can help you if a case winds up being made is a smart thing to do. There are a lot of scammers out there!

AND.... If somehow..however remote of a possibility that it is that eBay rules in the sellers favor...well then the buyer can just go to PayPal and have the funds locked up and get a case there...which PayPal will almost assuredly vote in favor of the buyer. That is what happened to me, after eBay sided with me ..because the guy tried returning 40. Days after the fact.

[jadekite22]

Originally Posted by Cougrcrumby

AND.... If somehow..however remote of a possibility that it is that eBay rules in the sellers favor...well then the buyer can just go to PayPal and have the funds locked up and get a case there...which PayPal will almost assuredly vote in favor of the buyer. That is what happened to me, after eBay sided with me ..because the guy tried returning 40. Days after the fact.

I'm sorry that happened to you. That, however, hasn't been my experience as a buyer. I had a seller send me a completely different and much cheaper statue than the one pictured and described in the listing.* eBay ruled in the seller's favor despite my sending pictures. I attempted to appeal the case but got an impassable automated message that read the case result back to me. I then tried to go through Paypal, which only resulted in an email doing the same thing. I believe sellers are plenty protected. I have 100% positive feedback on eBay. The seller had negative feedback literally from other people who purchased the same item from them.

If I were to sell a statue on eBay, I would specify or require that the buyer purchase insured shipping and list in the description that returns will not be accepted for damage during shipping or QC issues if sealed. That should be enough to dispute any case or, at the very least, ward off buyers looking to take advantage of the eBay's protection policy.

*I ordered the 1/6 Kotobukiya 1/6 ArtFX Wonder Woman and received the 1/10 ArtFX+